Woman stabs older co-worker with scissors after being pushed into metal stool

A dispute between two Thai women working at a food court turned violent when the older woman, 53, pushed her 35-year-old colleague into a metal stool, fracturing her rib. Less than five minutes later, she threw a ladle at her colleague, who retaliated by stabbing her twice in the arm with scissors. The younger woman was sentenced to 11 weeks in jail.

The accused, Thai national Changsuwan Titirat, 35, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.

According to the facts of the case, the incident took place on 2 May 2025 at the Singapore Food Street food court in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 3. The other woman involved was fellow Thai national Charoensuk Krittya, 53.

Changsuwan and Charoensuk had worked together for nearly a month, but there had been misunderstandings between them. On the day of the incident, tensions escalated into two confrontations in quick succession.

The first confrontation took place at 9.05pm, when an argument in the kitchen turned physical. Charoensuk pushed Changsuwan, causing her to fall and hit a nearby metal stool. She suffered a minor fracture to her left seventh rib.

Another employee intervened and separated the pair, but they began arguing again less than five minutes later.

Charoensuk, who had been preparing food outside the kitchen, returned to confront Changsuwan and threw a ladle at her. Changsuwan, who happened to be holding scissors while preparing ingredients, retaliated by stabbing Charoensuk twice in the arm. She stopped only when Charoensuk backed away.

Charoensuk was taken to Changi General Hospital for treatment. A medical report showed that she had a laceration on her left arm and was given three days of medical leave.

Changsuwan was arrested that day after the food court supervisor called the police. She was released on bail the following day.

Charoensuk also faces one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt and one charge of criminal intimidation. Her case is still before the court. According to the charges, she allegedly held a ladle and threatened to break Changsuwan’s nose.